Mail box construction



Aug. 26, 1958 N. A. THIEMAN MAIL BOX CONSTRUCTION Filed Aug. 19, 1957 Q L I MW. MW-W ll" INVENTOR. J /mAZmd/z United States Patent 2,849,175 Patented Aug. 26, 1958 MAIL BOX CONSTRUCTION Norman A. Thieman, Fairmont, Minn. Application August 19, 1957, Serial No. 679,025

3 Claims. (Cl. 232-19) My invention relates generally to mail boxes for residential buildings and the like and more particularly to mail boxes of the type which extend through the wall of a building and are provided with door closures at their opposite ends to facilitate the insertion and removal of mail or other like material placed therein. Mail boxes of the type broadly described are, of course, old in the art. Of necessity, they must include a pair of door equipped frames adapted to encompass opposite ends of a horizontal opening through a wall and a tubular sleeve extended between said frames. sleeve must, of necessity, be rigidly anchored with respect to each other and numerous unsatisfactory means have been employed for this purpose. Most frequently, the two frames are attempted to be anchored to flanges carried by the sleeve through the medium of machine bolts or screws. Because the length of these screws and the fact that the installer is working blind, that is, it is impossible for him to see within the wall opening, to bring about alignment between the screw and the threaded opening adapted to receive same, it has been very difficult and time consuming to make such installations.

The primary object of my invention is the provision of a device of the class above described which may be installed in a minimum of time and with a minimum of skill.

A still further object of my invention is the provision of a device of the class above described which includes a pair of door equipped frames adapted to be positioned on opposite sides of a building wall whereby to encompass opposite ends of a horizontal opening through said wall, a tubular sleeve carried by one of said frames and adapted to extend through said opening and terminating in spaced relation to the other of said frames, a pair of metallic retainer cups secured to the outer surface of said sleeve intermediate the opposite ends thereof and in circumferentially spaced relationship about the axis thereof, non-metallic threadable cores in said cups, and elongated screws spaced about the other of said frames and having pointed ends generally alignable with openings in said metallic cups, whereby said screws may form screw threaded engagement with said cores, irrespective of the angle which they may be caused to assume in passing through the openings in said caps.

A still further object of my invention is the provision of a device of the class immediately above described wherein said sleeve at one end is provided with a laterally outwardly projecting flange which is detachably secured to said one of said frames.

A still further object of my invention is the provision of a device of the class immediately above described in which said cores are in the nature of wooden blocks snugly received within said caps.

A still further object of my invention is the provision of a device of the class above described which may be inexpensively produced, which has a minimum of parts and which is rugged and durable.

A Still further object of my invention is the provision The two frames and the of a device of the class above described which may be anchored in operative position as tightly and rigidly as is desired.

The above and still further objects of my invention will become apparent from the following detailed spec'mcation, appended claims and attached drawings.

Referring to the drawings wherein like characters indicate like parts throughout the several views:

Fig. 1 is a view in end elevation of my novel structure;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a view partly in section and partly in elevation as seen substantially from the line 3--3 of Fig. 2 and on a somewhat reduced scale.

Referring with greater particularity to the drawings, the numeral 1 indicates a frame, generally rectangular in form, and adapted to engage the exterior surface 2 of a wall 3 of a residence or the like, about a horizontal opening therethrough identified by the numeral 4. Frame 1 is preferably formed from any suitable metal and, as shown, is provided with a door 5 which is pivoted on a horizontal axis, as indicated at 6, along its upper edge whereby to be self-closing under the action of gravity. At suitably spaced points about the frame 1 are countersunk openings 7 for the reception of elongated pointed wood screws 8, the function of which will hereinafter be explained in greater detail.

Extending about the opening 4 in engagement with the inner surface 9 of the wall 3 is another generally rectangular frame it which may be formed from any suitable material, such as wood. A tubular sleeve ii is adapted to extend through the opening 4 in the wall As shown, the sleeve 11 is provided with laterally outwardly projecting flange portions 12 at its upper and lower ends which are detachably secured to the recessed inner portion 13 of the frame 10 by screws or the like 14, as clearly shown in Fig. 2. A suitable door 15 is hingedly secured to the upper portion of the frame 10 on a horizontal axis as indicated by the numeral 16. However, to insure positive closure of the door 15, a yielding member, such as a rubber binder 17, may be interposed therebetween and the intermediate portion of the sleeve 11.

Again referring to Fig. 2, it will be seen that a pair of metallic retainer cups 18 are secured to the outer surface of the sleeve 11 intermediate the opposite ends thereof and in circumferentially spaced relationship about the axis thereof, by means of tongues or flanges 19 which are welded or soldered thereto. Snugly received Within the cups 18 are screw threadable cores, preferably in the nature of wooden blocks 20. As shown, the side edges 21 of the cups 18 facing the outer frame 1 are provided with one or more punched apertures 22 of a diameter to readily receive a pointed end 23 of a screw 8.

To install my novel structure, above described, it is but necessary to cut or otherwise provide a hole 4 through a vertical wall 3 somewhat larger than the diameter of the sleeve 11. The sleeve i1 is then inserted into the hole from one side, preferably the inside 9 of the wall 3, and the frame ltl is properly centered about said opening 4. While the frame it) is thus securely held in position, the frame 1 is applied to the exterior surface 2 of the wall 3 about the opening 4. The screws 8 are then inserted through the openings '7 and into a suitable opening 22 in the side Wall 21 of the cup 18. Thereafter, straightforward thrust and rotary screwing movements imparted to the screws 3 will cause the pointed inner ends 23 to make threaded engagement with the wooden blocks 20, irrespective of the specific angular relationship which the screw 8 may have with respect to the axis of a given opening 22, and Without the necessity of precise alignment. in this manner, the two frames 1 and 18 as well as the sleeve 11 may be secured together with any desired practical clamping force.

My invention has been thoroughly tested and found to be completely satisfactory for the accomplishment of the above objects and while I have shown apreferred .embodiment thereof, it should be understood that same is capable of modification without departure from the scope and spirit of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a device of the class described, a pair of door equipped frames adapted to be positioned on opposite sides of a building wall whereby to encompass opposite ends of a horizontal opening through said wall, a tubular sleeve carried by one of said frames and adapted to extend into said opening and terminating in spaced relation to the other of said frames, a pair of metallic retainer cups secured to the outer surface of said sleeve intermediate the opposite ends thereof and circumferentially spaced about the axis thereof, non-metallic screw threadable cores in said cups, and elongated screws spaced References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,628,881 Helm May 17, 1927 2,752,217 Simon June 26, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 112,468 Sweden Nov. 21, 1944 

